• odium@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    On the flipside, something most developed countries consider normal but would blow Japanese minds is the ability to do all “paperwork” on your phone or laptop without any paper ever being printed anywhere. Japan is somehow still a country of fax.

    • Squiddles@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I heard Japan described as being “stuck in the year 2000 since the 1980’s”. I think South Korea fits the original question better than Japan nowadays.

      • imkali@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        I’m there right now from Australia, which is often considered one of the most cashless societies and yeah, it’s really a shock.

        To be honest I kind of like it, and the way they manage it.

        • Ucalegon@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Here in the Netherlands you can pay practically everywhere electronically (even the door to door collectors for charities carry a qrcode in addition to their collection box) , but if you go next door to Germany you’d better bring cash if you want to buy anything.

      • fidodo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        And when it isn’t cash only it’s a completely random grab bag between credit cards, transit cards, QR codes, app payment and e money. Just hope you have the supported option of like 20 options.

      • thrawn@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They’ve made a stunning amount of progress in accepting credit cards in the past couple years though. I’m there pretty regularly and the shift has been wild. By spring 2023 I didn’t really need cash anymore. By fall, I used cash maybe twice.

        There was one thing I was sure I’d need cash for— nope, the hotel paid them and added it to my tab. Back in the day, that mostly happened only if you skipped out on a reservation and the restaurant wanted to collect the cancellation fee. Which has never happened to me so I guess I’m not sure it worked exactly like that.

        I know a lot of people here hate credit cards and only use cash, but it’s honestly a pretty large hassle to get cash in every country you visit. Using the same card everywhere is way more convenient and cheaper (exchange fee + no % back like with a credit card)

      • ferralcat@monyet.cc
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        1 year ago

        I’ve heard it’s just more of a burocracy thing. A friend there once told me he always puts the date wrong on the top of documents because there is a person who’s job is to double check your work. They’re judged on how often they find mistakes, so it’s easier to put something blatantly wrong at the top that easily fixed so they can quickly find it and he can move on.

    • tiredofsametab@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      We are getting more and more stuff, but they often have a really shit UX. We can do some stuff on PC since the “My Number” card system, but that also requires installing all kinds of software, only works in certain browsers, etc.

    • RainfallSonata@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You can fax at your local public library. It was only about six months ago that my state’s social services dept. stopped requiring faxes.